Page 13 of Blinded
"Twenty-nine. You?"
Bayne laughed. "Fifty-three."
The age difference would sound like a lot to the normal human, but to shifters it was almost as if we were the same age. The way our bodies aged, I imagined Bayne didn't look more than twenty-five. "You've always been with this pack?"
"Yes, I've traveled a bit, but this is home. I am good friends with Kurt. I stayed with the Bozeman pack for a time, but it was rough, not as organized as most. My grandfather is still there."
I nodded, feeling a wave of sadness from my link with Bayne. "What do you do here?"
"A little of everything. I'm a mechanic, a welder, I can build, do most anything construction-wise, but more often than not, I work for the pack, security or muscle."
"Do you enjoy that?"
"I do. I like helping the pack. We've had some attacks come our way over the last few years. I've been able to help. I like that I don't have a regular job. I can come and go as I want, help where I'm needed."
"Your alpha is good?"
"Kurt?" Bayne laughed again. "He's the best alpha I've ever seen. His father worked hard to make sure the pack ran well, and when Kurt took over, he continued to do the same. He doesn't throw his authority around unless he needs to. I've stayed with several packs in the past, and I can tell you, I've never seen one run as smoothly as Kurt's. He's a good friend, but an even better alpha. What about yours?"
"Pete is my alpha. He's not power hungry, but he likes to make sure you know he is in control. He is demanding, harsh, but not violent like some alpha's I've heard about. He likes his women, and that causes more problems than anything else in the pack does. He doesn't care if a female is willing. If she is in the pack and not mated or married, he will take them as he wants. I never agreed with that. There are too many willing to be with him. He doesn't need to force the others who don't."
Bayne sat silent, but I sensed the uneasiness flowing from him.
"It's okay. If we decide to mate, I'll stay here. I wouldn't ask you to leave. I have nothing there other than my family that I'd regret leaving. My job is not an issue anymore now that I'm blind, and I don't have many friends there. Bridger was trying to talk me into moving here as it was."
"I'm sorry you lost him." Bayne's voice softened.
"Me too. I hope he felt no pain." I shivered at the thought of getting my throat slashed. "I don't know what to tell his parents. They are going to be so mad at me."
"Why would they be mad at you? There was nothing that you could have done to help him. You were drugged, knocked out. If they are mad at anyone, it's the person or people who did this to you both. I promise you, Brett, we won't stop until we find who did this."
I nodded, but was realistic enough to know that the person who did it could be halfway across the country by now. "I keep trying to think of any enemies either of us had, but there was really no one. There were some girls who Bridger had pissed off, but it wasn't anything major. He was selective in his women, and he liked control. Not in a bad way, just in the bedroom. He was a dominant and had to have submissive women."
"And the ones he upset weren't?"
"Bridger said that he'd taken two girls home from the bar about a month ago. He'd made it clear he was looking for something certain from them. He didn't play like it would be casual sex. Bridger always made sure his partners knew he had to have full control in the bedroom. He said when they got there, the girls tried to take control, telling him what to do." I smiled. "I've been friends with Bridger long enough to know that wouldn't have gone over well. He said he kicked them out, but the girls were mad, offended he didn't want them, especially together."
Bayne's chair creaked, and I wished I could see him.
"Are we talking about playing around with the dominance thing, or was Bridger a real dominant?"
"Real." I ducked my head, unsure how my mate would take what I was about to say. "Bridger and I both trained under a Dom when we were in California. We were pretty heavy into the scene while we were there."
I heard Bayne's hard intake of breath, but then smelled something that shocked me — arousal. I lifted my head, my nostrils flaring at the scent of my mate aroused. My wolf was restless, begging me to let him come forth. I took a deep breath, trying to ignore the scent and not think about how much stronger it could become.
"So, there is a chance Bridger could have lost control with someone, maybe partially shifted or bit them?"
"There's always a chance, but he never lost control before. I don't know why he would now. We worked hard to control that side of ourselves. We trained with another wolf. He pushed us hard, making sure we had complete control. My wolf knows that side of things is for me. He plays when we are with pack and can shift." I reached for my plate, feeling around the center of it, finding the potatoes. I used my fingers to pick them up and take a bite.
Bayne was silent for several minutes, and again, I wished I could see his face, his reaction to what I'd just shared with him. Few people knew about my dominant side, and those who did were always shocked. I'm not some big, bad, alpha male to look at. My usual personality is calm, collected, and almost meek at times, but in the right environment, with the right people, there is a side of me that demands complete control and submission of the person I am with. I wondered how that would change now that I couldn’t see.
"More coffee?" Bayne asked.
I smiled, aware he was avoiding the conversation we were going to have to have at some point if we decided we were going to mate. "Please."
"I'm just trying to figure out who might want to attack you, but it's pointless for me to ask all the questions now when Kurt will just ask them again. My wolf is struggling because he can't avenge his mate. He wants revenge on those who hurt you."
"My wolf wants the same. He's upset we can't go out and track whoever it was right now."
